Page 29 of No Mercy In Red

I’d told Lara the small details last night, that Connor had admitted to stalking me. Not telling her the intensity of it, making it seem a lot less obsessive than it was, I just needed to get some part of my life off of my chest, even if I was hiding most of the details.

“Nope, skipped straight to dessert,” I answered dryly, sipping my coffee. “But trust me, dinner wasn’t needed,”

She grimaced, waving me off. “Gross. Keep your weird stalker kinks to yourself.”

I laughed, the tension easing in my shoulders. This was why I loved Lara, there no judgement, just blunt honesty and sarcastic banter. She was my anchor, even if she had absolutely no fucking clue how deep my shit went.

“Coffee?” I asked.

She nodded, “Please, I’m just gonna hop in the shower first.”

After coffee and taking turns to shower, we spent the rest of the morning tidying up the lake house, packing our bags, and tossing playfulinsults back and forth. Lara was nursing her hangover, but my mind kept drifting back home, back to reality. My chest tightened at the thought.

Lara must’ve sensed my sudden seriousness. “You okay, babe?” She asked softly, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I forced a smile, sighing deeply. “Just thinking about how nice this has been, being normal for once. No work, no stress, no town gossip of serial killers.”

“Well, we don’t have to rush back,” she offered, eyes hopeful. “We can stay longer if you want.”

I shook my head gently, “Reality awaits, unfortunately.”

She squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “Maybe reality needs to be shaken up. You’re thirty now, Max. Maybe it’s time to let yourself live instead of existing between your apartment and shitty office.”

I gave her a half-hearted smile. “Maybe you’re right.”

But reality wasn’t that easy, my life wasn’t just mundane paperwork and boring routines – it was blood, darkness, and legacy. And lately, that legacy felt heavier than ever.

During the drive back, we sat in comfortable silence, the scenery passing by unnoticed as I drove. Lara dozed lightly, sunglasses sliding down her nose, completely unaware of the turmoil raging within me. I kept my eyes on the road ahead, watching trees blur by as I lost myself in thought. What if Lara was right? What if it was time to stop, to let go? Was I ready to end the legacy I’d fought so desperately to uphold? My fathers face flashed through my mind – his kind eyes, his gentle smile, the way he protected me from a world filled with darkness, only to silently hide his own darkness behind a mask of calm. If I was caught, everything would unravel. The truth would spill out, staining his memory. People would never understand, they’d only see him as a monster, just as they would see me. My stomach clenched painfully, I couldn’t let that happen.But could I really walk away and silence the part of me that needed this – the darkness, the justice my father had instilled in me?

As we pulled into town, my decision felt heavier than ever. The choice between safety, and legacy, between freedom, and revenge. I wasn’t ready yet, but I knew one thing clearly – my days as judge, jury, and executioner were numbered. They had to be, or soon, everything I’d fought to protect would crumble, dragging my fathers memory down with it.

And I couldn’t allow that, no matter what it cost me.

Chapter 24

Connor

By the second day, I was fucking losing it.

Max had vanished from my radar completely. My hands shook, my mind spiralling with violent scenarios – what if someone had found her, touched her, hurt her? Even worse, what if she had willingly let someone else put their fucking hands on her? I tried everything to distract myself, even agreeing to a night out with Joe. We went to Mitzies, even though nightclubs weren’t my thing. Joe had been adamant, saying it was the best place to pull, and that he needed to let off some steam. But instead of dulling the ache, the alcohol had intensified my rage. Joe raised his eyebrow when I’d told a petite blonde to piss off, but my emotions truly spilled over, a red haze settling over me when some asshole accidentally bumped into me. I snapped completely, punching him until my knuckles split and became bloodied. I tasted my own blood as the bastard got in a lucky swing, the pain barely registering.

Joe dragged me outside, eyes wide with shock. “Connor, what the fuck is wrong with you man?”

I brushed him off, telling him that I was just stressed from work, even thought I knew he didn’t buy it. But I couldn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t sit there and confess how deep my obsession with Max had grown. Fuck, he didn’t even know about Max, I couldn’t risk him knowing she even existed in case he started poking around. I staggeredhome, drunk and enraged, collapsing onto my chair at my PC as images of Max consumed my every waking thought. I pulled up the camera history, scrolling back until I landed on the night I had finally claimed her, the night I finally had worshiped her body. I watched the video, my cock throbbing as I listened to her moan beneath me, watched the little details I had missed when I was between her thighs. The way her lips were parted, the way her tits bounced as I devoured her cunt, licking up every last drop. She looked fucking divine, laid there for me like a good little whore, panting and moaning my name. I free’d my cock from my trousers, slowly moving my hand up and down as I sped forward to her bedroom, watching from a different angle how incredible she looked taking me down her throat. She was built for this, built to be fucked, worshiped, destroyed. My hand moved faster, my breathing turning into shallow pants as I watched myself lose control fucking her face. I came at the same time I did on the video, my body shuddering with complete ecstasy. The next time I fucked her; she wouldn’t leave unscathed.

Sunday afternoon jolted me awake with a sharp buzz from my phone. My head pounded as I pried open my eyes, the memories of last night flooding in. I ran my tongue over the split in my lip, remembering the punch that fucker got in before Joe dragged me outside. I reached for my phone, glancing at my split knuckles, blood dried and crusted around them.

My pulse quickened as my blurry vision cleared.

[iPhone 7394648: Device back online. Location detected.]

Relief hit me so hard my chest ached, but relief quickly twisted back into rage. She was safe, yes – but why had she left so abruptly and why had she turned off her phone? Who the fuck else other than Lara had she been with? She was an hour away from home, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be walking into an empty apartment.

I drove there without hesitation, pure unadulterated rage swimming through my veins. Getting inside was effortless now – I’d copied her key the first night we fucked, the key that symbolised my twisted need to own every part of her. I settled myself onto her sofa in complete darkness, waiting with a bottle of wine that I had stolen from her fridge. Minutes felt like hours, each second sharpening my anger to a deadly point. Finally, the door opened, spilling her soft laughter into the silence from the phone call she was on. The sound filling me with a sickening mix of relief and pure, burning jealousy. I stayed perfectly still as she flicked on the lights, her carefree smile instantly fading when she saw me sitting there, waiting like a fucking predator. She hung up the phone with a muffled goodbye.

“What the fuck – Connor?!” Her voice shook as she shouted, her eyes wide in shock, fear flickering in their depths. Good. She should fucking fear me right now. “How the hell did you get in here?”

I didn’t answer, didn’t move. My body was rigid with barely contained violence, my fists clenched, bruised knuckles aching to brush against her skin, claim her, punish her. But I forced myself to remain seated, forcing her to endure the heavy silence as I took a long drink from the bottle.

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